Sirens: A Game for the Dead
by MAmidala
Summary: On Wattpad, I am in a writing contest called "Sirens: A Game for the Dead". These are my entries.
1. When Hell is Full

"Move! Move!"

While the flock of twenty students were being pushed back by the undead horde before them, they were still aptly defending themselves. The impromptu leader, Rory Paxton, stood at the front, swinging the cricket bat he had found when the situation started hours earlier at the heads of the undead. Not yet fully decomposed, having only been dead today, the walkers were still in tact, making slaying them quite the project.

Contradicting some of the boys' expectations, the girls were quick to step up to the plate. Cayenne Reirson stabbed a walker in its bloodshot eye, Lydia Phillips downed two by herself, and even the young Echo Cabello bashed one in the head before being pushed behind the safety of the eleven- and ten-yearers. The younger students were instinctively sheltered behind the older while fighting off the unwavering horde, for reasons obvious.

Blood staining peoples' clothes in splatters, body parts severing. The sight was enough to make anyone lose their lunch. In fact, some did along the way.

After what seemed like forever, the last walker was downed against a locker by a petite brunette, who promptly fell to her knee in exhaustion and shock afterward.

"Hey, come on, get up," Celica Bryers told her, patting her back and assisting her to her feet. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, are you?" the girl asked breathlessly, stumbling over her own two feet on her way to where the others were.

"I think so," Celica answered, sitting the sweaty brunette down on a clean bit of floor. "You bit?"

The girl shook her head. "No."

A feminine voice groaned from a short ways away. She was gripping her shoulder tightly, from which blood was gushing at a rapid rate. "Somebody help me!"

Kane Wesley-Price's head whipped over to the girl, a fresh wave of anxiety crashing over her. She partially crawled over to her hurriedly, taking the girl's hand away from her shoulder. "Were you bitten, Leah?"

"Yes," the blonde answered, her eyes shut tight. She bit down hard on her lower lip again and screamed through it.

"Shh, shh!" Kane quickly put her hand over the other's mouth, preventing the sharp noise from summoning more walkers. "You'll be okay."

"The hell she will," Allen Mellark Sandin commented from the other side of the hallway. Kane shot him a disapproving look, to which she only shrugged. "Look at her."

"I am," the brunette told him. Turning back to the wounded, who was beginning to fade, her breathing quickened. She patted the girl's cheek, trying to keep her here. "Hey, hey, hey. Don't, okay? You'll make it through this, okay? Leah."

"Kane, stop," Rory told her, placing a strong hand on her shoulder. He looked over at the main entrance to the school, which was beginning to lose strength under the power of the crowd outside. Only a couple students were keeping it up. "We have to go. That door's not going to hold much longer."

Kane looked back down at Leah, who who didn't have a lot of anything left in her anymore. Kane felt bad for anything, even things she didn't do. She never saw the sense in deliberately hurting someone; it hurt _herself_ extensively. So now, as one of her long-time classmates was dying in front of her, she didn't know _what_ her emotions were doing. This had only happened a few hours ago to the principal, and from there it spread imperceptibly quickly. As far as the group knew, there was no one left but themselves.

"But . . ." Kane didn't know what she was to say. She looked up at Rory desperately, who was looking down at her with a sad expression. "We have to—!"

"Kane, you saw what happened to the others!" Lydia shouted, coming forward from her little group. "Just let her go!"

A couple people shot Lydia some looks, but didn't disagree with her.

Kane ended up giving the passed-out Leah one last look and jumping up from a kneel as the main doors burst open. As she and the others ran, she heard the distant screams of a couple left behind. Her heart lurched in her chest, wanting to turn back, but every time she looked behind her she saw the staggering, terrifyingly alive corpses pursuing her.

"Let's go to the canteen!" she suggested as they turned a corner, thinking that food would help them greatly, assuming it hadn't already be looted.

"Good idea!" Rory shouted back.

The group, now slightly smaller than before, sprinted down the halls, either dodging or downing stray walkers without a second thought along the way.

Finally, the door to the canteen burst open when the students shoved the double doors open. They quickly shuffled in, certain students taking sad note of those who didn't enter. Kane retreated to one of the clean white tables, sinking down into the seat. As the doors were barricaded by the boys, tears began to fill her eyes. _I may never come out of here._

* * *

The Fallen:

Leah Jade Baines (bitten and bled to death)

Jake Madjeski (left behind, presumably dead)

Ian O'Connor (left behind, presumably dead)

Marcia Stray (left behind, presumably dead)


	2. A Screech in the Dark

The students set up camp in that little canteen that night, albeit rushed and makeshift. It was reasonably comfortable given their unfortunate reason for being there. They found towels to sleep on and conversation to make that night, lying stiffly on their towels and whispering amongst themselves as they drifted off. Some students were often awoken by others gasping or screaming awake from nightmare, usually to be comforted by those adjacent to them.

The next morning, awake before anyone else, Kane Wesley-Pryce had some time to herself. Her breath held tight, she peered out the window of the barricaded door, which was covered up by Chugs's jacket, held up with some tape by its sleeves over the blood-spotted glass. Lifted up a single corner, Kane looked out at the dark, dim corridor, he stomach lurching and her heart catching as she watched a walker stumble and stagger down the hall, dragging their feet in long scrapes and moaning ominously as it went along its merry way. Then, Kane unknowingly pulled the jacket open too wide, letting herself be completely visible as the walker turned around. In the last second, she turned around, pulling the the jacket closed again, praying she wasn't seen. After awhile, she confirmed with herself that she hadn't and proceeded to eat a little breakfast with Rory, who had awoken a couple minutes after the incident.

They decided to put their heads together to make a rations chart as to not run out of food. The found a yellow legal pad with some notes left by the chef on the first page. They tore that off and wrote out everybody's names and how much food they get per day, determined on age and size. Kane, who found herself seldom hungry at any time, volunteered to be on the lesser side.

That day was calm yet stressful. No one could stop glancing at the door and a couple threatened to their choice of deity that they would charge right through it, although the threats never came to fruition. The students got just as much sleep that night as they did the last—none. If they did get any, they would have been awoken by the scream.

Everyone ran over to where Lydia was standing, hands over her mouth tightly to prevent another scream from getting out. "What happened to him?" she choked, unable to look away from the body. Kane pushed to the front of the crowd to see who it was.

Lewis Taylor.

She scrunched up her face as her eyes landed on the kitchen knife lodged in his chest. "Jesus," she whispered, putting her arms out a little. "Who did this?"

"You don't seem very _affected_, Kane," one voice accused. "Quite calm, aren't you?" Kane tried to find it, but it was silence by another voice blaming it.

Everyone else caught up in the chaos, Kane tried to put Lewis's body out of her mind as he sat down at a table, still shocked. After awhile, Lewis's body was closed off from the main area in a closet off the canteen, and people started talking amongst themselves about who did it. Kane decided to join in.

"Hey," she said lightly to one of the boys—Keller "Kook" Bradleys. "Kook?" His reply was meeting her eyes. "Who . . . who do you you think did it?"

"'Did it'? You mean killed Lewis?" he asked her. She nodded. "I don't know."

"Well, do you have any ideas?" The further along the conversation went, Kane's sneaking suspicion that Kook had something to do with it grew.

His brow furrowed. "Why do you want to know?"

She shrugged. "I guess I'm just curious." Kane tried for a light smile. "It's all pretty crazy."

"Well, I don't have any ideas . . . sorry."

Kane walked away from him then, his expression still lingering in her mind: absent yet aware. Kook had always been something of a character, even now with his hollow voice yet eyes very alive, although typically covered by his sunglasses. She kept him in mind as she moved on.

She milled through possible suspects until she came upon one of the girls, who was talking to Maxine—Freya Swinnton. "Hi, Freya."

"Hi," she said back, looking away from Maxine. They were the same age, but drastically different. While Kane was reserved and shy, Freya was a blunt object ready to bludgeon you into nonexistence.

"Can I talk to you alone for a minute?" Kane asked politely.

Freya hesitated before turning to Maxine and saying, "I'll be right back." The two girls went off into a corner to talk. Freya didn't hesitate with introductions, however, as she did parting with Maxine. "What do you want?"

Kane, taken slightly aback, cleared her throat. "So . . . who do you think killed Lewis?"

Freya snorted, folding her arms. She seemed bemused. "Are you kidding?" Kane shook her head, making Freya snort again, this time leaning close to her. "Everybody thinks it was you."

Kane furrowed her brow and took a step back. "What? Me?"

Freya nodded. "Yep. I've heard it from just about everyone." Her tone was light, but her words were heavy. "I guess not many people like you, Pryce."

Kane looked at the floor. "I guess not." She scanned the room and her classmates, feeling betrayed. She then looked back up at Freya. "Wait, how do I know you're not trying to trick me?"

"Because I don't think it was you, Pryce," the brunette laughed, shaking her head.

"You don't . . ."

"Know, I don't." She shook her head some more. "I think it was Keller Bradleys."

"Kook?" Kane asked.

"Yeah, whatever." Freya tossed up her hand. "Anyway, the guy's crazy. I could totally see him killing somebody. Either him or Lydia, seeing as she's the one who found him."

Kane furrowed her brow at her company, taking all of this in. "People really think it was me?"

"I'd clear your name if I were you," Freya told Kane. "Tell Rory it was Keller or Lydia, and he'll crack the case."

Taking her words with several grains of salt, Kane parted with her and set out to find Rory, who was in the kitchen, looking distressed. "Rory."

"Kane! Hi," Rory greeted her, turning to face her.

"I think I know who killed Lewis."

Rory's face turned as he leaned closer to her. "Really? Who do you think it was?"

Kane hesitated and looked around. First at Kook, then at Lydia, then finally at Freya. Her eyes stayed on her for a long time until they met, at which point Freya mouthed, _Tell him_.

Kane turned back to the leader and said, "It was Freya Swinnton. I'm sure of it."


End file.
